jojocare

press release – 29 January 2007

DAFF Funding Boost for a New Luxurious, Silky, Sexy, and Droughtproof Crop for Australia

A new, droughtproof crop for Australia has been given a boost this week by the federal government with the awarding of a $35,000 Project Commercialisation Grant to the Australian Jojoba (jo-jo-ba) industry under the New Industries Development Program.

Large scale commercial jojoba plantations have been established in five States across Australia over the past decade and these plants are now entering a yield increase phase. The industry produced 40,000 litres of liquid jojoba during 2006 and production will now increase by 30% per year until 2015.

In NSW, plantations are at Yenda, Hillston, Kywong, Forbes, Condobolin, Canowindra, Bourke, Narrabri and Tamworth. In Victoria, at Kerang. In South Australia, at Swan Reach. In Queensland, at Goondiwindi and in WA, at Kelannie, Wagin, Geraldton and York.

Jojoba plants grow to 3-4 metres and can live for 200 years. Liquid jojoba is a silky, golden wax produced by cold pressing the bean from the jojoba shrub. Beans from across Australia are crushed at Cootamundra in NSW.

Jojoba shot to prominence in the late 1970's when scientists found that the liquid wax from jojoba had remarkably similar structure to the natural wax esters in human skin. This makes jojoba unique in the plant kingdom.

When jojoba is applied to human skin it mixes instantly with skin sebum and chases its pathways deep into the skin and scalp to skin cell and matrix level. It forms a lipid layer that holds water in the skin. Jojoba is antibacterial and antifungal so it kills most of the common skin bacteria and fungi as it cleans and moisturises.

Jojoba quickly became the main base ingredient worldwide for the manufacture of cosmetics, skin and hair care products, and anti-ageing treatments. It has a silky, lubricating texture that also makes it superior for all types of massage. Jojoba is the main base carrier for essential and aromatherapy oil blends. Natural antioxidants give it a very long natural shelf life and when it is used as a carrier jojoba prevents rancidity in added oils.

The jojoba industry applied for the grant to establish its new marketing platform, to launch a range of small branded packs for trade, retail and home users, and to grow markets here and overseas. Grant funds of $35,000 will be matched dollar for dollar by the Australian Jojoba Industry Association to commercialise the branded pack range and promote online and mail order marketing.

The grower owned marketing company Jojoba Australia already has strong bulk commodity based sales in Australia and is exporting Australian jojoba in bulk to Iran, Korea, Italy, New Zealand and Malaysia. PCP grant funds will now also allow the company to brand its bulk packs and participate in very targeted programs in conjunction with Austrade, to grow domestic and international sales, and break into new markets in North Asia and Europe.

Jojoba Industry Association Chairman, Tony Hamilton of "Warili" Forbes said the announcement of the grant had been a shot in the arm for jojoba producers.

"Jojoba plantations are now an increasingly important part of our mixed farming operations. Under the current appalling drought conditions, our plants ar thriving and are producing like never before. This is in stark contrast with other water dependent enterprises on our properties."

"Jojoba is a good news crop for growers and for Australia and we love to grow it. These are permanent plantings that require no working up so fossil fuels are not burned when maintaining jojoba. There are no serious pests of jojoba in Australia so we do not need to spray the plants. Jojoba is droughtproof and salt tolerant which gives us some security, and the end product is luxurious, silky, sexy, useful and brings significant human health benefits."

"Our high yielding jojoba plant strains were specially developed by the CSIRO and NSW Agriculture for Australian conditions. Current plantings will provide increasing volumes of consistent, high quality jojoba long into the future. Producers now own and control all aspects of jojoba production, processing, packaging, marketing and delivery. Branded Australian jojoba will be our guarantee of quality and consistency of supply for buyers here and overseas."

Jojoba is good news for Australia and now the industry can look forward to making a significant impact with branded, products on a global market estimated to be greater than 17 million litres per year, and growing. Tony Hamilton said.

Marketing and Communication Manager for Jojoba Australia, Chris Black at Leeton said the Grant was an important helping hand for the fledgling industry and would go a long way towards making pure jojoba accessible to everyone in a convenient form.

"The key potential commercial users of jojoba are massage therapists, aromatherapists, spa and wellness centre operators and podiatrists. Home users are using it to maintain skin, hair and nail health and to treat specific conditions like acne, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, scaling, scarring, and many more. The outcomes being reported by users are outstanding."

"We have looked closely at these market sectors and have worked with practitioners and potential users to design a pack range that will be convenient for all applications. This includes a 1 litre pump pack for massage therapists and 500ml, 125ml and 55ml fliptop packs for everyday use. We also have 4kg, 10kg, 19kg and 180kg bulk packs for larger operations and manufacturers. The grant funding will now ensure that the entire pack range is marketed under our jojocare brand here and overseas. The brand and label information will be translated for markets like China and Japan, where there is currently no awareness of the benefits of pure jojoba, beyond its use as a carrier for aromatherapy blends."

The Australian College of Massage has now established a co-operative association with Jojoba Australia to promote the benefits of jojoba for massage. The College now exclusively uses Australian jojoba and has placed a forward revolving order for the new 125ml fliptop packs. This will be the first commercial production run for the industry under the funded program.

Rob Wild, Education Manager for the Australian College of Massage said that the emergence of a large jojoba industry in Australia with a range of branded packs designed specifically for massage practitioners, was an exciting development that would help practitioners and benefit their clients.

"Directors of the College readily committed to the relationship with the jojoba industry as it was such a natural fit. Jojoba is the premium massage medium and the best carrier for massage oil blends. To have access to pure jojoba that is grown, pressed and packaged in Australia now adds another feel-good dimension."

"The Australian College of Massage has training campuses in 15-20 locations around Australia and about 1,000 new students enter our courses each year. The cost benefits of being able to purchase direct from the producer also means that jojoba is readily affordable for students and practitioners. We are using Australian jojoba exclusively now at the College and our training staff will now present all new students with a starter pack of Australian jojoba along with educational materials to get them started."

Chris Black said the response of the Australian College of Massage was similar to the way people and organisations were responding generally to the new industry and its products.

"The new funded program commences at the beginning of February and the first commercial scale packing runs of jojocare branded packs will start immediately."

He said it was an exciting time that would see the jojoba industry make an immediate transition from a production driven marketer of a bulk commodity to a market driven producer of branded, packaged, value added Australian products.